Night arrived on the grass plains like it did most nights. Wolf howls, and the ramming of heads by Chuttlebeasts fighting for dominance, carried across the soft hills of the prairie. Lightning from the southwest sparked across the sky in a show with a backdrop of blue and green ribbons of light adrift in the night sky.
Another long day had been walked, and the Nums were exhausted and quickly fell asleep after eating.
Grewen typically was more hungry than tired, but he had dragged his hands in the tall grass during their walk and pulled up handfuls of the plants every few minutes to chew on. With a full stomach he dozed off halfway through his normal foot cleansing in the campfire.
Santorray never showed signs of being tired. He always ensured that the camp was safe and the surrounding area was secure before retiring for the night. But before doing so, he would often crouch down on his hairy wolf-like legs and stare his dragon-like eyes to the east for several minutes. Periodically he would sniff in the air before returning his gaze. Eventually even he would fall prey to the need for sleep.
“Avanda,” Bryus whispered, as he shook her shoulder to wake her.
Squinting, she looked up and saw Bryus’ face, with one eye missing.
Bryus quickly placed a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. “Shhhh. It’s me, Bryus. Stay quiet.”
The distant lightning added a dreadful look to the man’s thin face with his missing eye. Sweat ran down his forehead and sides of his face as he apprehensively glanced around. It took her a few moments to fully wake up and realize she wasn’t in danger. As his wet and clammy hand began to release her, she could taste the bitterness of the salt from his wrinkly skin. “What are you doing? Where is your eye? What happened?”
“Keep it down. Everyone is sleeping.”
“Bryus, what’s going on?”
“Let’s perform that spell one more time.”
“Spell? Which one?”
“The summon swap spell.”
Crunching up her face, she obviously didn’t think that was a good idea. “Listen, it was funny once, but next time we’re going to get in trouble.”
“Shhh, keep your voice down. Listen, just one more time. I’ll never ask you to do it again.”
“I don’t understand why you want to do this. Everyone is tired. I’m tired. I don’t feel like any games right now.”
“How would you like to learn a charm spell? Perhaps even a love charm?”
Avanda’s eyes gave away her interest.
“Good. We can barter. Cast this spell for me one more time and I’ll teach you a charm spell.”
Nodding her approval, she still questioned his motives. “Why now?”
“Trust me, you’ll understand later.”
Sighing at his lack of forthcoming information, she agreed to perform the spell. “Where is your eye?”
“Never mind. Get started on the spell.”
“Whose hair should I cut?”
“No need,” he replied, handing her the hourglass with two different types of hair tied onto each side.”
“Four people? We’re swapping four of us?”
Bryus nodded for her to continue as he pointed at the instructions in the book.
She waved her hands appropriately and said the words needed to prepare the spell before the final words appeared.
“Go on, say them,” Bryus urged her in a nervous voice.
“Something doesn’t seem right about this.”
“It soon will. You were nervous about it last time as well, if you recall.” Bryus’ voice gave signs of anxiousness as he prodded her to complete the spell.
“I suppose. Where do you want me to sit?”
“I don’t give a damn where you sit. Just start the spell.” His nervous smile had changed to a look of anger.
“Hey, what’s gotten into you? Why are you acting this way?”
Grabbing her shoulder, with his one hand, he strongly encouraged her to stop asking questions. “Say the final words to activate the spell!” His sharp words were exiting through tight teeth and sweat poured down his face and his arms.
“No!” She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was too strong.
Raising his hand to slap her, he stopped himself just prior to the act. “You don’t understand. I need you to finish this spell right now.”
“No she doesn’t!” Thorik announced from behind Bryus. The Alchemist’s conversation had obviously been louder than he had hoped.
He quickly turned to face the Num. “Thorik, you don’t know what’s going on here.”
“Get away from her, Bryus.”
But instead, he grabbed her throat and shook his head in defiance to the Num’s demand. “Thorik, if you take a step closer to me, I’ll kill her. Her blood will be on your hands.”
Thorik slowly stepped back, showing his palms to suggest he would obey the Alchemist’s wishes.
Wiping the salty sweat out of his eye with his upper arm, Bryus loosened his grip slightly on Avanda’s neck.
Seeing this, Thorik decided to take advantage of the opening. “Now!”
Before Bryus could turn around, Santorray rushed forward and knocked Bryus off his feet, landing eight yards from his prior location.
The Blothrud wasn’t through. He leaped forward, picked the man up and slapped him hard to the ground, flat on his back. “You like picking on little girls?”
“It’s not like that!” Bryus began spitting up blood from the violent attack.
“Don’t kill him,” Thorik announced as he walked over to the Alchemist. “I want to know what he’s up to.”
Shaking his head, his body was held down by one of Santorray’s mighty legs. “Nothing. It was just a spell.”
“What kind?” Thorik asked.
“Same one Avanda and I did before.” He spit up more blood. “Avanda, tell them we were just playing a joke. It was a game.”
“Grabbing her throat was no joke!” Santorray growled.
“I was frightened by Thorik’s arrival and I panicked.”
Santorray looked at Thorik. “He’s full of Fesh lies. I should just kill him now and salvage the rest of the night for our sleep.”
Thorik raised his hand to prevent the Blothrud from killing Bryus. “No, not yet. I want to know what he was really up to. Perhaps you can help him recall.”
“Gladly.” Santorray extended his claws from his paw and began to drive the sharp tips into the man’s chest.
“Awww!” Bryus screamed from the new pain.
“Thorik.” Grewen had stood up and was walking over to the scene. “I don’t like the idea of torture, and I’m surprised that you are condoning this.”
“Grewen, you didn’t see what he was doing.”
“What was he doing when you first approached him?” the Mognin asked.
“He nearly hit Avanda for not performing a spell.”
“Nearly?”
“Yes, he stopped himself, but he then grabbed her by the throat.”
“Should we not give him the right to speak without threatening his life?”
“No!” Santorray was unsatisfied with the suggestion. “His reasons for the crime don’t justify doing it, regardless what they are.”
Grewen attempted a different approach. “Even among your Del customs, dear Santorray, it is the victim who selects the response, not an outsider such as yourself. Based on your traditions, Avanda is the one who selects his fate.”
Grinding his claws slightly deeper into Bryus’ chest, Santorray smiled before looking for Avanda to step forward. “What would you have me do to this Fesh in a human’s skin?”
Avanda walked up quietly, tears in her eyes. “Why? Why were you like this to me? I trusted you.”
“You don’t understand,” he coughed out.
“Then explain it to me. Why force me to cast this spell?” She held the hourglass before her. But then she noticed the hair on each end. “Whose hair is this? I recognize Santorray’s coarse red leg hair and Brimmelle’s black hair, bu
t not the ones on the other side.”
Bryus was silent, grimacing at the situation.
“And where is your eye? What does this have to do with it?”
Brimmelle walked up behind her with a cloth wrapped around a small sphere. “I think I found it.”
“NO!” Blood shot from Bryus’ mouth. “Whatever you do, don’t open that cloth!”
“And why not?” Thorik asked.
He received no answer.
Santorray pressed harder onto the man’s chest, with no results except additional pain for the Alchemist, which Santorray enjoyed watching.
“Open up the cloth,” Thorik announced.
“No, please, anything but that,” Bryus begged.
Thorik raised his hand to Brimmelle this time to stop the action. “Tell me why, I shall not ask again.”
The Alchemist finally broke down and began to cry. “Because if you do, my family will die.”
“How so?”
“Darkmere has my family in one of his prisons.” Bryus struggled to get the words out.
Motioning to Santorray to have him reduce the pressure he was placing on Bryus’ body, Thorik was impatient about wanting more information. “What does that have to do with this spell?”
“Darkmere allows my family to live under one circumstance. I must lead him to Ambrosius.”
“I knew it!” Brimmelle announced. “I told you he was working for the Dark Lord. Santorray, kill the traitor!”
As much as the Blothrud would enjoy finishing the battle, he didn’t take orders from the likes of Brimmelle.
“I agreed to do this for him in order to save my family,” Bryus insisted. “I meant you no harm. If I had refused, he would have killed my family as well as myself. This way I had time to plan their escape.”
It still didn’t make since to Thorik. “I thought you didn’t know where they were being held.”
Spitting blood to the side, he took a few needed breaths before answering. “I don’t. Which is why I needed the spell.”
Avanda held the hourglass up and looked at the hairs on the bottom. She then noticed the unique stitching in Bryus’ collar was gone. “These are the hairs of your family?”
Bryus nodded. “Yes, my wife and my daughter.”
She squinting as it came together. “You wanted me to cast this spell so your family would appear here with us?”
“Yes, where they would be safe from Darkmere.”
“But then Santorray and Brimmelle would have awoken in their place, in some prison.”
Santorray scowled and added some weight back on the man’s chest.
Brimmelle was outraged at the idea. “You mean to tell me I would have woken up in Darkmere’s prison in a distant land?”
“Yes.” Bryus squinted from the added pain on his chest. “But you would have had Santorray to bust you out. The two of you would have had a fighting chance to escape. A chance that my family never would have had.”
“How could you violate our friendship?” Thorik asked. “We trusted you. I trusted you.”
“Why do you think I avoided trying to become friends with you people? I didn’t want you to trust me. I didn’t want there to be any bonds. Every time I found myself getting closer to you it made it all the harder to complete this task.”
Avanda then asked, “Then how did you choose?”
“Santorray had the best chance of escaping Darkmere’s prison, and Brimmelle just annoys me.”
Brimmelle stepped forward after hearing the comment and raised the cloth-covered eye as he prepared to uncover it. “I’ll show you how I can annoy you.”
“No! Wait!” Bryus shouted.
“What does this eye have to do with your family?” Brimmelle asked.
“Darkmere sees through it. He thinks I am asleep right now. If you reveal it, he will see you, and know I have been exposed as a traitor. He will murder my wife and daughter.”
Avanda considered his point of view. “So, you have been plotting against us all this time.”
“I’ve been trying to save my family all this time. Surely you, of all people, can understand what measures you would take to save family.”
Thorik sighed. “And this is why you were persistent in wanting to help us find the book of magic, so you could find this spell in order to save them.”
Glancing over at his wooden arm, Bryus nodded again. “I hadn’t expected to lose the power to properly perform spells.”
“Which is why you needed Avanda,” Thorik added. “Why didn’t you come forward so we could help you?”
“There was nothing in it for you. Without a reason for you to obtain something from it, why would you have?”
Thorik motioned to Santorray to free his prisoner and lift him up. He then walked over to the man. “Because we are family. And once you are part of our family pod, we help you out even when we may disagree with your decision.”
Bryus was confused. “You mean you’re not vengeful after what I attempted to do?”
“Oh, I’m furious with the danger you put us in, the fear you gave Avanda, and the position you nearly put Santorray and Brimmelle in! I’m disappointed in you as well. So let’s make this clear. You are walking a fine line with this family pod and you have a lot of rebuilding to do.”
“And my wife and daughter?”
“I can’t guarantee we can help your family out of their situation, but we will try our best once you have proven yourself by helping us save Gluic from Varacon.”
Bryus nodded one last time.
“Santorray, escort Bryus back to his bedding. Brimmelle, keep that cloth tight around that eye and give it back to Bryus. The last thing we need is for Darkmere to know we are on to him.”